Almost Human
by Kittengrl39
Summary: Written because I'm weird, published because I'm an idiot. A new Pokemon has been discovered surprise surprise. But is this creature just a Pokemon? Or is she something more? Read Chapter 3 first, please!
1. Chapter 1

O.o First I write Teen Titans, now THIS?! What is wrong with me?!  
  
I tried to get out of writing this, but the main character wouldn't leave me alone, so I finally gave in. Hopefully, it'll be a one-shot. Probably, it won't.  
  
I'm done...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Almost Human  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Charizard, Flame Thrower!"  
  
It was the final match in the Indigo League. Jorge, the defendant, had used all his Pokemon but Charizard. The challenger, Shiren, had two Pokemon left - soon to become one.  
  
His Pidgeot fell to the ground, charred.   
  
"Pidgeot is unable to battle! Charizard wins!"  
  
Jorge grinned. "All right, Charizard!"   
  
The huge dragon tilted its head up and flamed, celebrating its victory.  
  
Shiren grimaced at the loss. "Pidgeot, return!" He returned the Pokeball to his belt and brought out another, whispering to it.  
  
"Sorry, Lieka... I know you didn't want to battle, but this is my only choice... we have to win this..."  
  
Steeling himself, he threw the Pokeball. "Go, Lieka!"  
  
The Pokeball opened...  
  
And an entirely new creature came out.  
  
It resembled a cross between a human girl and a cat. Long, tufted ears stood on either side of its chin-length, light green hair. Green fur covered its entire body. Its yellow, slit-pupiled eyes quickly scanned the arena, while its tail, with three orange rings near the end and an orange tuft, twitched back and forth. An orange sleeveless tee and shorts completed the outfit.  
  
The audience gaped. The announcer, recovering from his shock, began talking quickly into his microphone. "The challenger has brought out an entirely new type of Pokemon! What a surprise, folks! This new type seems to be called a 'Lieka', and-"  
  
The creature in the arena spun around to face the announcer's tower and snarled, "Lieka is my NAME, not my type, and I'm not a Pokemon!"  
  
The announcer, unsure of what to say, stuttered, "Uh... uh... uh..."  
  
Lieka turned back to face the Charizard and smiled grimly. "Let's get this show on the road."  
  
"Lieka, Fury Swipes!"  
  
She facefaulted and got up to face Shiren with a pleading expression. "Could you please not do that? I know what to do."  
  
Shiren smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Force of habit."  
  
Lieka sighed and turned back to the Charizard, who was looking slightly bewildered. "Fury Swipes!" she yelled as she attacked the huge Pokemon.  
  
Jorge was now thoroughly confused, but what he did know was that a Pokemon-like creature was attacking his Charizard. Instinctively, he shouted, "Charizard! Use Fire Spin!"  
  
Charizard obeyed. Lieka dodged the flames and scored a hit on the dragon before she had to retreat or be barbecued.   
  
"Charizard, Body Slam!" Jorge yelled, a bit more sure of himself now.  
  
Charizard charged at the girl, who dodged and jumped up on its back. It roared and tried to dislodge her, but she clung grimly to its back with her claw-like nails. It flew all over the arena in rage.   
  
Lieka winced as bits of airborne debris hit her, causing much more damage than they should have because of the high speed. She searched for an opportunity to finish the battle and get out of here.  
  
The Charizard's trainer finally saw a chance to get the girl off of his Charizard's back. "Charizard! Ram your back against the wall!"  
  
Charizard heard the order and immediately started flying for the wall. Lieka, too, heard it and thought desperately how to get out of this.  
  
When the Charizard had nearly reached the wall, it twisted to slam against it, and at this last possible second, Lieka let go. She dropped to the arena floor, landing lightly on her hind legs, which were structured like a cat's.   
  
The unfortunate Charizard slammed against the wall at high speed and fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
The referee raised his flag. "Charizard is unable to battle! Shiren is the winner!"  
  
"Unbelievable! Shiren, with his new Pokemon - I-I mean Lieka-" the announcer stuttered as the creature in question turned to glare at him, "has taken the Championship! What an amazing match!"  
  
Shiren cried, "Lieka, return!" and brought her back. Then, defying all logic, he jumped down from his platform and ran.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
He met the expected gaggle of reporters right outside the stadium.  
  
"Shiren, why did you run from your victory?"  
  
"Who or what is the Pokemon you just played?"  
  
"Where did you find her?"  
  
"Are there more?"  
  
"What are you planning to do now?"  
  
"I'm planning to go back home," he replied to the last question, then forced his way through the reporters, still clamoring with questions.  
  
He managed to make it to his hotel room and locked the door, sighing. "I'm lucky this place doesn't allow reporters inside," he muttered, quickly packing his belongings in a carry-sack.  
  
He slipped quietly out of the fire escape and into the woods.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Once safely under cover, he brought out the Pokeball once again. "Go, Lieka!"  
  
The cat-girl stretched and glared at him. "Why did you make me fight? You know what kind of trouble we could get in."  
  
Shiren sat down against a tree, sighing. "I just had to win that fight." Seeing that her frosty demeanor had not changed, he added, "It was the Championship, Lieka! You know how much this means to me."  
  
"Even if you didn't stay to collect your winnings?"  
  
"Even then." He sighed again and looked up at the stars. "That other kid will probably get the trophy now, but everyone will know it's me who won."  
  
She softened and crawled over to sit next to him. "I forgive you."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
There was a small, companionable silence.  
  
"This really did mean a lot to you, didn't it?" she asked, studying the stars. "I mean, it's what you've been working towards your whole life as a Pokemon trainer."  
  
"Yeah," he sighed. "And now I've finally achieved my goal." He got up to get his sleeping bag out. "Think I'm gonna turn in for the night. How about you?"  
  
She shook her head. "Nah, I'll stay up for a while."  
  
Shiren shrugged. "Suit yourself." He unrolled the sleeping bag and was asleep within minutes.  
  
Lieka smiled at him, touching his cheek lightly before jumping up onto the rocks and sitting down like a cat. She stared up at the moon, lost in her own thoughts.  
  
She and Shiren had been together for as long as she could remember - since they both about seven. She smiled slightly, remembering their first meeting.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shiren had 'borrowed' a Pokeball from his father's supply and was out looking for Pokemon to catch, completely ignoring the fact that you need a Pokemon to catch a Pokemon. Mostly, he was just wandering through the woods, staring at everything he saw.  
  
Lieka's ears twitched. She heard an unfamiliar sound in the forest. Dropping the berries she was eating, she quickly climbed a tree and went to check it out.  
  
She discovered that there was a new creature wandering through the forest. It walked on two legs, like she could, but was colored quite differently. Its hair was brown and its skin was pink. And what were those strange coverings on its body?  
  
Fascinated, she followed the strange being until it stopped at some point, to take out - what was that in its hand? A fruit of some sort? She leaned over to get a better look -  
  
CRASH!!!!  
  
Startled, Shiren spun around, Pokeball in hand. There were rustling noises in the bushes to his right. A Pokemon? It had to be!  
  
He threw the Pokeball...  
  
Lieka, dazed by the fall, didn't realize what was going on until she felt a light touch on her arm. Then she felt the strangest sensation...  
  
There were no words to describe it, but when it ended, she found herself floating in some kind of space. It was actually quite restful...  
  
Shiren parted the bushes to see the Pokeball wriggle from side to side, and then settle.   
  
"I caught a Pokemon?! All right!" he shouted, jubilant. He picked up the Pokeball, grinning. "Let's see what I caught!"  
  
Lieka was beginning to doze off when a voice reached her. "Pokemon, go!"  
  
She found the sensation to be happening in reverse, and blinked when she reached the outside world. There was that creature again!  
  
For a long moment, they both stared at each other.  
  
Shiren screamed.  
  
Lieka screamed.  
  
There was a flurry of motion that ended with Shiren hanging upside down from a tree branch with Lieka sitting, cat-like, below him. "Wh-what are you?" he quavered, staring down at her.  
  
She looked at him, tilting her head as if to say, "I don't understand."  
  
Shiren climbed down slowly, never taking his eyes off her. When he had ascertained that she didn't mean to attack him, he held out his hand and approached her slowly. "Nice kitty..."  
  
Lieka was curious. She knew the noises of the Pokemon in the forest well enough - like the sound of a happy Furret or an angry Ursaring. (The latter she had learnt very quickly.) But this thing was making noises she had never heard before. She tried them out herself. "Ki... tee..."  
  
Shiren jumped back, startled. "Ah! You talk!"  
  
"Ta... awk?" she asked, tilting her head inquiringly.  
  
Shiren realized that she was just parroting his words. He hunkered down in front of her and pointed a finger at himself. "I'm Shiren. Can you say that? Shi... ren."  
  
"Shi... ren..." she said. Then she brightened. "Shi... ren. Shiren!"  
  
"Good! Now, this is a tree. Can you say that? Tree!"  
  
"Tree!"  
  
"Excellent!"  
  
The language lesson continued well into the night. When Shiren realized how late it was, he returned his new Pokemon to her Pokeball and ran home. His parents were angry, but he didn't tell them about the Pokemon. He wasn't quite sure why, only that it was HIS discovery, and he didn't want to share.  
  
The cat-girl was a quick learner, and he taught her the basics within the week. Soon she was forming simple sentences, and even named herself.  
  
Shiren leaned back, relaxing. He had just taught the cat-girl some basic moves, like Tackle and Scratch. She was glad to finally have names and guidelines for what she did instinctively.  
  
Right now she was also relaxing, looking puzzled and frowning a little. Finally, she spoke to the boy.  
  
"Your name Shiren?" she said.  
  
"My name IS Shiren," he corrected. "Yes, that's right."  
  
"What is my name?"  
  
"Umm..." Shiren was stumped. He scratched his head. "I don't know. I checked the Pokedex, and there's nothing like you in there. Come to think of it, we should give you a name. I can't keep calling you 'you' all the time." He looked over at the young cat-girl. "What do you think?"  
  
She frowned in concentration. "Lieka," she said decisively.   
  
"Lieka?"  
  
"Lee-eh-kah," she corrected. "Those sounds are good. I like them. So I make my name from them."  
  
Shiren smiled. "If that's what you want..."  
  
"It is."  
  
He had dressed her in one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorts, but no shoes. Her legs were structured like those of a cat, which meant that her feet were more like paws, and unsuited for normal human footwear. As the months went on, however, Shiren decided to bring Lieka with him on a daytrip to the nearest city.   
  
His mother gave him permission to go, as he said one of his friends would be with him. What she didn't know was that he was bringing Lieka with him.   
  
He had still not told his parents - or, indeed, anyone - about the existence of Lieka, for reasons that would become clearer as he grew older. Lieka had asked him about it, once.  
  
"Well," he had replied, chewing a delicious fruit she had found, "I bet nobody's ever seen anything like you before. But everybody's always concerned about wild creatures having diseases. You'd probably have to get lots of shots."  
  
"Do you get shots, Shiren?" she asked, also enjoying the fruit.  
  
"Yeah. Every time I go to the doctor."  
  
"Does it hurt?"  
  
He winced at the memory. "Yeah. They're supposed to put something on that stops it hurting, but I always feel it."  
  
"Then we won't tell," Lieka said firmly.  
  
They stuffed a pair of shoes with tissue paper, to take up the extra room, and dressed her in pants and long-sleeved shirts, to hide her fur. She wore a coat with an inside pocket to stuff her long tail in. Shiren even found a large hat to cover her ears, so big it drooped down over her eyes. But all the disguising was worth it when they into the city.  
  
Lieka was enchanted. She had never dreamed of anything as wonderful as this. They went all over, to museums, art shows, restaurants, and movies.  
  
They entered a book store, where Lieka was perplexed.   
  
"What are all these blocks of paper, Shiren?" she asked him, puzzled.  
  
Shiren stared at her for a moment, then slapped his forehead. "I forgot! I need to teach you to read!"  
  
When they ended up in a clothing store, Lieka gasped, then immediately dragged Shiren over to the girls section, where she spent the better part of an hour trying on clothes for him to see. Since he had some money, they ended up with two pairs of jeans, some shorts, a sweater and two t-shirts.  
  
Lieka was positively dancing with joy over their latest find, when Shiren suggested they go to an ice cream shop.  
  
"What's an ice cream shop?" she asked, curious.  
  
Shiren grinned in anticipation. "Oh, you'll see..."  
  
They had enough money left for two scoops each. Shiren dove into his eagerly, but Lieka stared at it doubtfully.   
  
"Are you sure this is good?" she inquired. "It's rather cold on my hands..."  
  
Shiren smiled at her, his mouth covered in chocolate. "Try it. It's good. Believe me."  
  
She took a tiny lick...  
  
Then her eyes sparkled, and she devoured the rest quickly.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~End Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lieka grinned a little at the memories.  
  
Over the years, Shiren had introduced her to a lot of things. She had learned to be human, while at the same time training to fight as a Pokemon. Five years had gone by since they met, two since he had started on his journey. It had been much better then - when she could walk beside him without fear of being seen, without worrying that someone would remark on her fur or her tail. But now...  
  
She sighed and glanced over at the sleeping boy. ~Why did you do it, Shiren? Why did you make me fight?~   
  
She thought this without bitterness, because she knew better than anyone his hopes, dreams, and ambitions. She knew that this success meant more to him than anything.  
  
But she also knew that the story of his going home was a lie.  
  
Now that he had used her in a public, televised match, people all over the world would know about her. Scientists would come after them to catch her, experiment on her, discover how she worked. Lieka scowled. The idea of being vivisected didn't much appeal to her.  
  
But despite that, she had to admit that she would be interested in the results. Ever since she had met Shiren and become self-aware, she had wondered about her origins and what she was.  
  
She glanced down at her hands. They were like human hands, except for the fur and the nails. Where most people had fingernails, her fingers tapered on the last joint and grew into claws. The nail was thick, curved, and sharp. She also knew that it was damn near unbreakable. She'd used these claws on rocks, sometimes.  
  
Her mind was restless, searching for answers that were more complicated than most.  
  
"What happened to me, early in my life?" she murmured to the moon, her only witness. "Why can't I remember my parents - if I had any? Where do I come from, and what is my purpose? What am I - human or Pokemon?"  
  
She remained on the rock for a while longer, as though waiting for the answers. Then she climbed down, unrolled her sleeping bag, and went to bed  
  
.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*wincing* My fingers hurt. That was a long one-shot. It turned out better than I thought, so I suppose I'll listen if you want it continued. But you better provide me with ideas. My own won't last too much longer.  
  
Read and review!  
  
PS: Sorry about not having accents on the Es, but they wouldn't go through on my computer. 


	2. Chapter 2

Wow. (whistles) I've been away a long time, haven't I? And I never did write the second chapter to this. I hope people will still read it. (sweatdrop)  
(cricket chirps)  
OO Hello? Readers? Somebody? Anybody?

* * *

Almost Human

* * *

_Darkness._

_Except that the darkness wasn't complete. It was moving, shifting around her, the sum of all the ancient fears of things unseen. Scales slid, claws clicked, and a low growl reached her out of the murk._

_She had to get out of there. Shaking, she began to run, tripping over small bumps in the ground. The noises were all around her, closing in on her, and yet she still couldn't see her own hand in front of her face._

_Suddenly something appeared in front of her, and she screamed..._

Lieka woke up, gasping.

Rays of early morning light pierced the canopy. A bird sang, somewhere in the distance. The ground was hard and real under her feet.

She lifted a hand and stared at it, shaking. "So it was all a dream..." she whispered.

Shiren stirred, muttered something. Then he blinked and opened his eyes. "Mmm... good morning, Lieka," he said, yawning.

"Eh?" She glanced at him and smiled nervously. "Good morning."

Shiren noticed her still-shaking hands and worried expression. "Is something wrong?"

"What? No, nothing!" She peeled back the covers and went to get water for their breakfast. "I just... had a bad dream, that's all."

Shiren looked after her, still slightly worried. "If you're sure..."

Lieka gathered the water in silence. In truth, that wasn't all. What she hadn't told Shiren... that had scared her so much...

The thing that had dropped down in front of her was a mirror. She had screamed at the sight of her own face.

* * *

"So." 

Lieka glanced over at Shiren. He was sitting on a rock at the opposite side of the clearing, face unusually serious. They had just finished their breakfast of rolls and porridge, and were about to start cleaning up. "So?"

Shiren sighed and wiped his face with the corner of his napkin. "So, we need to figure out what to do now."

"We can't stay here, that's for sure. Those reporters may be out looking for us... and there are others who will come soon enough."

The two youths exchanged a glance that knew perfectly well what the last remark meant.

"So where should we go?" Lieka said, stretching.

Shiren frowned. "We can't go to Johto... that's our homeland, and they'd be looking for us there."

"And we've already explored Kanto." Lieka scratched in the dirt with one finger, tracing the route of their travels. "How about the Orange Islands?"

"Nah, I don't feel like exploring the Islands right now. Besides, we don't have a big enough water Pokemon." Shiren sighed, scratching his head.

They both thought for a minute, trying to remember where there was a place remote enough for their new journey.

Suddenly Shiren brightened, slapping his fist with his palm. "Hey, how about we go to the north?"

"The north?" Lieka glanced at Shiren.

"Yeah, the north! No one ever talks about it, so it would be perfect for hiding in. Who knows? Maybe they haven't even heard of us."

"I guess..." Lieka felt uneasy for some reason she could not name. She looked up at Shiren, who was putting away the cooking supplies energetically. "But if they don't talk about it, doesn't that mean there could be something dangerous up there?"

Shiren met her gaze, full of confidence. "We'll never know unless we go there."

Lieka blinked.

Shiren finished with the cooking supplies and began to roll up his sleeping bag. Lieka gazed after him, wondering. She hadn't seen him this happy since... well...

Since they started their journey.

Lieka smiled and went to help him. "Hey, you rolled it up the wrong way."

Shiren mock-glared at her. "You should talk. Yours looks like a lumpy sausage."

"I'm telling you, it's wrong."

"Fine then, you do it."

(Rustle, rustle) "There."

"What! How did you do that?"

"It's a gift."

The sound of the two youth's laughter floated up from the forest. Little did they what was to come.

* * *

Yay, happy now. But as you can see, it won't be so happy later. It's actually going to be rather dark... and bloody. I don't know if I can write this yet, but you don't until you try. 

Sorry again about the long hiatus. But I'm back now, so there'll be more chapters soon! (And longer ones, too...)


	3. READ THIS FIRST!

IMPORTANT NOTICE!  
Okay, now that I have everyone's attention.  
I know, I know, I just put up chapter 2 after a long time, but PLEASE DO NOT REVIEW IT. I realized that chapter 1 simply did not fit with the tone anymore, and a lot of the description for Lieka has changed. However, I am unwilling to simply take it down, since I still believe it's good - as a oneshot. So I will be taking down Chapter 2, revamping Chapter 1, and setting the whole thing up again - maybe with chap 3 in tow - sometime this week. Until then, please DO NOT review. 


End file.
